


Bond Fuel

by IntrovertedHappiness



Series: TAZ November Celebration [1]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Anxiety, Comfort, Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hugs, Realization
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-08
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:26:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27445615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IntrovertedHappiness/pseuds/IntrovertedHappiness
Summary: Barry woke up way too often in the middle of the night. Often enough that he would normally just sigh and go back to bed. Tonight was different. Tonight, instead of being met with Magnus's snores from the bunk above him, there was a different sound. Crying.
Series: TAZ November Celebration [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2005177
Comments: 8
Kudos: 33





	Bond Fuel

As it was supposed to be only a two-month mission, Barry hadn’t minded sharing a room with Magnus. It was better than rooming with Merle if Taako’s tales were anything to go by. He wouldn’t find sharing a cabin with Lup or Lucretia either (though, with Lup, the pressure of _don’t make a fool of yourself_ was amplified by ten), but Magnus was a good roommate. He left dirty clothes everywhere, yes, and the creaking of him moving around on the top bunk was annoying, yeah, but it was fine.

It was supposed to only be two months. Barry could live with it.

And now, two months into their life on the animal planet with no way of getting home, things were going south.

Barry hadn’t slept well since they left. Seeing a big, dark… _something_ gobbling up your home the moment you left wasn’t comforting and it haunted his thoughts every day. He was a light sleeper, anyway, especially when anxious. So when he woke up in the middle of the night again, it wasn’t a big deal.

What was a big deal was the sound coming from the top bunk above him. The energy usually hummed night and day, but this was different. Magnus was… crying. _Crying_. Barry sat there for a moment, eyes adjusting to the dark, tense, and still. It took a moment to identify what was happening, but the choked off sobs and sniffs were enough for him to get a clue. Barry shifted a bit, trying to sit up quietly.

What was he supposed to do? Ignore him? Magnus wasn’t a stoic person. Barry had seen him cry at the sight of a baby deer a few days ago. But this was… different. This was private. Barry didn’t want to intrude, but…

“Magnus?” he said after a few moments, calling out into the darkness. “Um, you okay?”

It was sort of hilarious of much of a textbook reaction Magnus had to being caught crying, but Barry didn’t feel like laughing. He heard Magnus fumble, swearing quietly, clearing his throat.

“Uh, yeah dude, I’m fine. How’re you?”

Even his voice was shaky. Gods, Barry wasn’t good after comforting, but he wasn’t going to let Magnus suffer alone. He reached out for his wand on the nightstand and cast a mage hand to turn on the lights. He blinked quickly to adjust to the light and swung his feet over the side of the bed. He didn’t get up to look at Magnus, not yet.

“Just- I kinda heard you crying, bud.”

“ _Shit_ ,” Magnus said, with feeling.

“I- I can go back to bed if you want, but I… uh. Wanted to check how you’re doing. Not great, obviously, but um. If you wanna talk. Yeah.”

“Just… thinking of home,” Magnus said and Barry’s heart clenched. “It’s been… two months. We were supposed to return yesterday.”

“Fuck,” Barry said. “Gods, yeah, we were.”

“I’m sorry,” Magnus said, voice thick. “I didn’t mean to remind you- I just-”

“No, no, it’s okay,” Barry said hurriedly, standing up. He turned, looking towards Magnus. He was red in the face, eyes puffy and swollen. Barry stumbled for a moment and grabbed the latter, climbing up to sit with him. “I get it, Magnus, I do. I… wish it wasn’t like this.”

He sat next to Magnus on the bed, though it wasn’t built for more than one person. Magnus’s lower lip was trembling. Barry opened his arms and at once, Magnus was burrowing into a hug, sobbing.

“I miss my _moms_ ,” Magnus cried. “I miss my dog and I left my bed unmade and I never got to talk to my neighbors before we left and- and-”

Barry was suddenly struck with how _young_ Magnus was. Him and Lucretia, both barely out of childhood. Barry doesn’t know if they’d ever dealt with death before. He doesn’t know if they still talked to high school friends and if they still expected to go to another school. They might never get the chance to now. Barry was mourning the people he knew, the world they left, yes, but Magnus might be mourning his whole _life_. All the experiences he’d never get the chance to live.

“I’m so sorry,” Barry said, because what else could he say to a person who had had their life robbed from them. “I’m so sorry, Magnus, I- if I could fix it for you, I would.”

“I just wanna go home some days,” Magnus said. “We’re here and we’re learning and that’s great but I wanna go _home_.”

The words “me too” got stuck in Barry’s throat.

“We’re going to get home,” Barry said instead, hoping beyond hope that it was true for Magnus’s sake. “I- I can’t promise, but I will do everything I can to help us get home.”

“And to beat up the big cloud that ate it,” Magnus said, voice cracking, but it was his obvious attempt at a joke.

“That too,” Barry said. “Beat that thing up until it’s all gone.”

The ship’s engine hummed in the background.

_Plus one bond._

**Author's Note:**

> Day Three for @taznovembercelebration on tumblr :O!! im @barry-j-blupjeans, come check me out!! (comments and kudos are vv appreciated)


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